PHILADELPHIA - Had Matt Farrell not stayed the course, not worked through early frustration, not simply kept his head down and his mouth closed, maybe the former Point Beach star point guard wouldn't have had the opportunity he did last week.

Farrell is going to be a central figure for a Notre Dame outfit projected inside the preseason top-25. Before he embarks on that, he, along with classmate and potential National Player of the Year candidate Bonzie Colson, were at the Under Armour All-America Camp last week at Jefferson University as one of 21 college player invites.

The purpose of their inclusion at the high school event, for all intents and purposes, was to showcase themselves in front of NBA scouts.

"It's a new experience, obviously, for me," Farrell said. "He (Colson) was here last year, but it's an opportunity to come out here, play hard, have some fun, meet some guys. This is a great place to be.

"I think there will always be pressure with stuff like this. You just have to block that out, play your game and have fun. That's what I've always done and that's what I will continue to do."

On Wednesday, the first of three days worth of workouts and games for the college kids, 35 NBA personnel were scheduled to be at Jefferson's Gallagher Center.

To be fair, this was not the first time Farrell was eye-balled by decision-makers. He plays for a major college program that has NBA scouts sniffing around throughout the winter, but this was different. Last week was an opportunity for these 21 players to be seen by scouts in a more intimate setting, whether it was an auxiliary gym at Gallagher, or out on the main floor in between the high school sessions.

"He can score well at the college level, but his best session was Thursday night when he looked to pass first and second, and shoot third," one NBA scout told Gannett New Jersey. "That is the ticket to the next level. He is tough with a good skill set and a little more athletic than many realize.

"He has a decent understanding, but needs to demonstrate that he can run his club with a good assist average and a winning record in the ACC. Those things will help get him where he wants to go."

Former Fighting Irish star Demetrius Jackson left South Bend after his junior season in 2015-16 for the NBA Draft, leaving a hole in Mike Brey's backcourt, which Farrell was happy to fill. His 13.4 points. 5.4 assists and 34.4 minutes per game were all quantum leaps over his sophomore averages, as were his field-goal percentage (44.8 percent), three-point field-goal percentage (42 percent), and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.16-to-1).

Farrell quarterbacking Notre Dame last winter yielded a 26-10 record, a berth in the ACC Tournament championship game, and second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament against West Virginia.

Just as Jackson and Zach Auguste were lost off the 2016 East Regional finalist, key pieces in V.J. Beacham and Steve Vasturia graduated off last year's team. That will place even more of an onus on Farrell to lead as a senior.

"I was just waiting for my chance," Farrell said. "Once I got my chance, I was going to go out, play my game, visualize it before it happened. I don't know if I did that, but I wanted to think positively. When you get an opportunity, you have to seize it.

"If you work hard, good things come. You can't focus on all the other stuff, you have to stick to what you know, stick to what you do. Trust what you do, trust the guys around you. That's what I did and will continue to do."